The Madras High Court has ruled that a government employee facing corruption charges cannot claim promotion as a matter of right merely because his or her name had been included in a promotion panel before departmental charges were framed, as reported in The Hindu.
A Division Bench comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and N. Senthilkumar held that inclusion in a promotion panel does not create an enforceable right to promotion, stressing that promotions should be granted only to officers with an unblemished record.
“It is immaterial as to whether the disciplinary proceedings are initiated before or after preparation of the panel. The promotion panel is just a list of eligible officers. It is only procedural and cannot be construed as promotion. Thus, no right accrues. Right accrues only after issuance of an order of promotion,” the Bench observed.
The ruling came while allowing a writ appeal filed by the Commercial Taxes and Registration Department against an earlier order of a single judge directing the promotion of Deputy Inspector General of Registration V.A. Anand to the post of Additional Inspector General of Registration.
Setting aside the single judge’s order, the Division Bench held that the absence of disciplinary proceedings at the time a promotion panel is prepared does not automatically entitle an employee to promotion if corruption charges are framed before the promotion order is issued.
Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice S.M. Subramaniam observed that a government servant need not necessarily be promoted merely because no charges were pending on the date of inclusion in the panel and departmental proceedings commenced only at a later stage.
The Bench accepted the submissions of Additional Advocate General P.V. Balasubramaniam, who argued that the government is empowered to defer a promotion at any time before the issuance of the promotion order if departmental proceedings relating to corruption are pending.
The Additional Advocate General also informed the court that the pendency of charges framed under Rule 17(b) of the Tamil Nadu Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, which deals with major penalties, constitutes a bar to consideration for promotion to a higher post.
The Division Bench further referred to the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016, noting that employees facing charges under Rule 17(b) are ineligible for inclusion in a promotion panel.
The court held that this principle applies equally to those against whom such charges are framed after the panel has been prepared but before the actual promotion order is issued.
“When the procedures contemplated under the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016 is that an employee facing charges under Rule 17(b) is not eligible for inclusion in the panel, it follows naturally that such persons, even after preparation of the panel and before actual promotion, are not entitled to promotion. The very purpose and object of the procedure contemplated is to ensure that tainted officials are not promoted to a higher post,” the Bench concluded.
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